The Stars-Avalanche rivalry has become one of the NHL’s most thrilling in recent years, but if the regular-season series is any indication, it may be tighter than ever.

The Stars and Avalanche completed the four-game series Saturday afternoon at American Airlines Center, with Colorado claiming a narrow 2-0 win after the first three meetings all went to a shootout. Dallas won the two in Denver, and Colorado won both at AAC, ending the series in a 2-2 tie.

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The two teams were tied 0-0 heading into the third period Saturday with just 27 combined shots on goal and nine high-danger scoring chances. There was little room out there, and any chances that did get through were stopped by Dallas’ Casey DeSmith or Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood — the Stars’ last two backup goaltenders.

With 9:21 remaining in regulation, Artturi Lehkonen found Martin Necas on the doorstep with a perfectly placed pass to take the late advantage. Lehkonen had to thread the needle to create the game-winning goal in a game as close as Saturday’s.

Dallas and Colorado likely won’t face off again until the second round of the playoffs where a shootout can’t bail them out. Prepare for a lot of late nights in April and May.

Take a closer look at the four meetings beyond the wins and losses, and they’ve been just as competitive. A Nathan MacKinnon empty netter, which made it 2-0 Saturday, gave Colorado the 12-11 goal advantage overall. Home-ice advantage hasn’t even been enough to separate them, either. The home team hasn’t won yet, which could bode well for Dallas if it has to head to Colorado for four games in a seven-game playoff series.

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The teams were also equally shorthanded in Saturday’s contest, with Colorado missing its star defenseman Cale Makar, among others, and Dallas without top-line centerman Roope Hintz, along with a cast of depth forwards and defenseman Tyler Myers.

READ MORE: Glen Gulutzan says Stars could have ‘complete lineup’ available by regular season’s last game

A playoff clash between the two teams that have sat atop the NHL standings for almost the entire regular season has felt inevitable for months. Colorado will seek revenge after Dallas ended its season the last two years — in double overtime of Game 6 of the second round in 2024 and at the hands of its own former player, Mikko Rantanen, who scored a third-period hat trick in Game 7 of last season’s first round.

But for Dallas to even get a chance at its biggest rival right now, it’ll have to take down its greatest historical rival, Minnesota, assuming the current standings hold. For the Stars to get a crack at the No. 1 team in the West, they’ll have to beat the No. 3 team. That hardly seems fair, but it’s why the league touts its first round as the most competitive in all of sports.

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The Stars haven’t been playing their best hockey lately, going 2-6-2 in their last 10. But Dallas has shown all season its ability to rise to the occasion against Colorado and Minnesota, going 3-2-2 in those seven games. The Stars will play the Wild once more Thursday at American Airlines Center in a game that could effectively secure home-ice advantage for Dallas in the first round.

At this point, the Stars will take any advantage they can get. The margins couldn’t be any thinner.

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